Analysing Bournemouth ahead of our Premier League meeting | OneFootball

An in-depth look at the Bournemouth team we’ll host at the Etihad this Sunday.

An in-depth look at the Bournemouth team we’ll host at the Etihad this Sunday.

The Cherries come to east Manchester for a 16:30 (UK) kick-off for what’s sure to be an entertaining encounter between two of the Premier League’s top scoring sides.

Last week’s defeat to Aston Villa ended our nine-match unbeaten run and means we’re fifth in the top-flight.

Can we get back on track in the Premier League?

With the help of Opta data, we analyse the team that we’ll be facing…

Recent form

The Cherries have gone unbeaten in the Premier League since their narrow opening weekend defeat to defending champions Liverpool.

They’ve won five and drawn three since then, scoring 14 goals and conceding just seven in the eight unbeaten games.

That’s left them second in the division with 18 points from nine matches, four points back from leaders Arsenal.

Their current tally is the best they’ve ever achieved after nine matches and that early form will have given them ambitions of placing above their best-ever finish of ninth in the 2016/17 and 2024/25 seasons.

Preferred formation

Our visitors have favoured a fairly settled 4-2-3-1 formation this season, with the emphasis on pressing high up the pitch.

Deeper midfielders Alex Scott and Tyler Adams cover a lot of ground in the centre of the park, meaning the likes of Antoine Semenyo, Marcus Tavernier and Justin Kluivert ahead of them can focus on creativity.

The formation also allows full-backs Adrien Truffert and Alex Jimenez to get very high up the pitch, whether coming into midfield or flying on beyond the wingers.

Summer activity

After losing four members of their regular back five last season, some onlookers thought Bournemouth might struggle a little more than their ninth placed finish last year.

Dean Huijsen went to Real Madrid, Illia Zabarnyi to PSG, Milos Kerkez to Liverpool and loanee goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga to Arsenal, hinting at the quality of those stars.

Other well-known figures from their recent Premier League era also left in the summer, including Dango Ouattara, Philip Billing and Jaidon Anthony.

They were replaced by the likes of Veljko Milosavljevic, Adrien Truffert, Bafode Diakite and goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic.

Bournemouth also added options on the wing in the shape of Amine Adli and Ben Gannon-Doak.

Manager

Andoni Iraola’s stock continues to rise week-by-week.

The 43-year-old is another member of the increasing Basque contingent of managers at the highest level in Europe.

As a player, he spent the vast majority of his career with Athletic Club in Bilbao before a season at our CFG sister club New York City in 2015/16.

Upon retiring, he took charge of AEK Larnaca, Mirandes and Rayo Vallecano before joining Bournemouth in 2023.

Now in his third season on the south coast, he’s won 33 of his 85 Premier League games to date.

They’ve achieved steady progress in his first two years, finishing 12th in 2023/24 and ninth in 2024/25.

Head-to-head record

We have won all eight of their Premier League home games against Bournemouth in top-flight history, only Manchester United (16/16 v Luton) and City ourselves (9/9 v Swansea) have a better 100% home win rate against an opponent.

We’ve also won 15 of our 16 Premier League meetings with the Cherries, with the exception coming in a 2-1 loss on the south coast last season.

City have scored 31 goals in those eight previous home games with Bournemouth, conceding just five times.

WATCH: City 3-1 Bournemouth: Short highlights

How they score their goals

With 16 goals so far, only Chelsea, Spurs and City have outscored Bournemouth.

However, those goals have come from an xG of just 11 – which is the 12th best in the division.

And with just 14 Opta-defined big chances and 112 shots, they’ve very much middle of the pack in terms of amount they are testing opposition goalkeepers.

They have scored more goals from outside the box than any other side in the Premier League this season (6), with Marcus Tavernier even scoring directly from a corner against Nottingham Forest.

Their five goals from fast breaks is more than anyone else in the Premier League, while they have scored just one header thus far.

They start quickly too, with their three goals in the first 15 minutes more than anyone else.

Only Erling Haaland has scored more goals than Antoine Semenyo so far, with six strikes.

19-year-old Eli Kroupi has scored in each of his last three Premier League appearances for Bournemouth.

Only three teenagers have ever scored in 4+ consecutive games in the competition, Robbie Fowler (3 times in 1994/95), Nicolas Anelka (twice in 1998/99) and Francis Jeffers (August/September 2000).

last time out.

How they defend

Bournemouth’s four clean sheets so far is the third best in the league behind Arsenal and Newcastle.

However, their 11 goals conceded from the other five matches suggests that when breached, they can be prone to letting goals in in batches.

Having won just 47% of their duels so far, they’re the worst in the division in terms of individual battles.

The stats so far show Bournemouth are much more vulnerable to opposition goals in the second half, conceding nine after half-time so far and just two ahead of the break.